Army to get unmanned ground vehicles

Bharat Rakshak (The Hindu)

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is preparing a road map for induction of unmanned ground vehicles into the Army, S. Sundaresh, Chief Controller Research and Development, Armament and Combat Engineering, DRDO, said. 

Inaugurating the “Driving Innovation - DRDO Student Robot Competition 2010” at the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) at Avadi near here, Mr. Sundaresh said the Army had agreed to induct 20 Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), developed by the DRDO's R&D establishment in Pune. 

Daksh, the ROV, would locate, handle and destroy hazardous objects safely. Designed to operate remotely from a range of 500 metres, it was capable of handling improvised explosive devices. 

Another version to monitor the contamination level in a Nuclear Biological Chemical-affected environment through its Radiation Measurement and Automatic Control Unit and Portable Gas Chromatograph was ready and the Army had to come up with its requirement, he said. 

DRDO officials held a meeting with the Army's Director-General (Perspective Planning) a few weeks ago and the road map for induction of unmanned ground vehicles would be ready in the next few months.

About 240 colleges had applied for the student robot competition and 14 teams were selected for the finals.

 

Netra demonstration

 

A demonstration of Netra, a fully autonomous, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), designed for anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations was held. “It can be deployed 1.5 km away. Flying at a height of 200 metres, it could send live video to the base. Four high-speed propellers allow the vertical take-off and landing of the portable Netra, which was expected be ready for induction into the Army by year-end,” said Alok Mukherjee, chief designer.